Imperial China Vocabulary

Question 1

Bureaucracy

Answer 1

System of appointed officials runs different parts of the government.

Question 2

Cultural Diffusion

Answer 2

The spread of ideas, customs, and technologies from one people (culture) to another

Question 3

Imperial

Answer 3

belonging or related to an emperor

Question 4

Dynasty

Answer 4

A line of rulers from the same family

Question 5

Empress Wu

Answer 5

China’s first and only woman emperor.

Question 6

Ghengis Khan

Answer 6

Fierce warrior and first Khan of the Mongol Empire

Question 7

Kublai Khan

Answer 7

United China under Mongol Rule (Yuan Dynasty)

Question 8

Zheng He

Answer 8

Chinese admiral who displayed China’s shipbuilding and navigation skills through seven explorations around the Indian Ocean

Question 9

Inoculate

Answer 9

To inject someone with a small portion of a virus to build up a person’s immunity

Question 10

Tributary

Answer 10

a conquered country or territory that pays tribute to the conqueror

Question 11

Civil Service Examination

Answer 11

a test given to qualifying candidates for positions in the government

Question 12

Maritime Trade

Answer 12

the trading and shipping of goods by sea

Question 13

Dynastic Cycle

Answer 13

A pattern that follows the rise and fall of a dynasty

Question 14

Mandate of Heaven

Answer 14

The divine right to rule China

Question 15

meritocracy

Answer 15

rule by officials of proven merit

Question 16

Silk Road

Answer 16

Large trade routes stretching 4000 miles across China to the Mediterranean Sea.

Question 17

Golden Age

Answer 17

Time of high achievements in a culture’s arts, literature, and sciences. Occurs in times of peace.

Question 18

Grand Canal

Answer 18

A 1,100-mile, man-made waterway linking the Yellow River (North China) to the Yangtze River (Southern China)

Question 19

Scholar official

Answer 19

Civil servants who performed the day-to-day administration of China on behalf of the emperor. They were highly educated scholars and acted as government officials.

Question 20

Mongols

Answer 20

nomadic group originating from the steppes of Central Asia, known for creating one of the largest empires in history

Question 21

Isolationism

Answer 21

a policy of remaining apart from other groups’ political affairs or interests

Question 22

aristocrat

Answer 22

someone who holds a high social level

Question 23

Woodblock printing

Answer 23

printing technique that involves carving an image into a wooden block and then pressing the block onto paper or cloth to transfer the image

Question 24

Moveable type

Answer 24

printing method that uses individual pieces, usually containing a single letter or punctuation mark, to reproduce the elements of a document

Question 25

Terrace farming

Answer 25

agricultural technique that involves carving flat areas into hills or mountains to create level platforms for growing crops